JC BASEBALL: Chaps overcome long odds to make deep run

Oscar LeRoy | oleroy@mrt.com

Published 6:07 pm, Sunday, June 1, 2014

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JC BASEBALL: Chaps overcome long odds to make deep run

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Understandably, Midland College baseball coach David Coleman was a little emotional after his team was eliminated from the JUCO World Series to eventual national champion Iowa Western on Thursday night in Grand Junction, Colo.

But at the same time, Coleman couldn’t help grinning after thinking what his team did to accomplish not only qualifying but to even finish in third place at the national tournament.

Starting Western Junior College Athletic Conference play with a 2-14 record, not many people even gave the Chaparrals a chance to qualify for the postseason.

But then they went on a fantastic run to close out conference play to finish fourth in the WJCAC with a 19-17 record and qualify for the postseason. They then came from the loser’s bracket at the Region V Tournament to win it and make a return trip to Grand Junction. Then in the World Series, the Chaps went 2-2 with their only losses coming to Iowa Western, the team that went on a tear to win its third national title in six years.

Could anybody blame Coleman for having that smile at the end of the day?

“I think it’s really unbelievable. I think it’s a story in of itself,” said Coleman of his team that won 29 out its last 36 games and finished 42-25 on the season. “Many times we try to create a path for our child, so we remove all the obstacles and we remove all the adversity. What happens sometimes when they bump up against it is they don’t know how to respond. Well, I didn’t see that out of the 25 guys that were with us. We had adversity in our way the whole time, and they handled it and they approached it. Yeah, it’s a special group.”

Coleman added that this year’s team will go down as one that people will always remember and one that will set itself apart from other teams at Midland College. While the 2013 Chap team went 48-15 and finally broke through to make it to the JUCO World Series, this year’s team built on what those players accomplished last season and took the Chaps one step closer to winning a national title.

“People don’t understand how special it is,” said Coleman about making the repeat trip to the JUCO World Series. “For us to come here two years in a row with basically two ballclubs, yeah, we had some key guys back, but it kind of raises the bar, and that’s what we want. When I took the job at Midland College eight years ago, at the press conference they asked me why did I take this job, and I said because we have a chance to win a national championship here. I think we’re getting closer. What we want to do one day is win the last game. Only one team gets to do that.”

Coleman added that the similarity between this year’s team and last year’s was the strong bond the players built.

“The team was more important than the individual,” Coleman said. “This group seemed to bond a little deeper than last year’s group because of the struggles we had to go through just to get where we wanted to get to. We had more hard times this year than last year, that’s for sure.”

The Chaps will lose nine sophomores off this year’s team. All-Region catcher Chris Shaw and right-handed pitcher Thomas McIlraith have signed to play with Oklahoma, while right-handed pitcher Brandon Courville committed to Kansas State during the JUCO World Series. Coleman added that the rest of the sophomores will have a chance to play if they wish to pursue their baseball career. He added that the sophomores were instrumental in keeping the team together through the tough times.

An example of team’s strong camaraderie, Coleman said, was when the team finished its final meetings of the season on Saturday at Christensen Stadium, he could hear the players in the locker room just hanging out and talking.

“We first got together around Aug. 24 and it’s now May 31 and the fact they still want to be around each other says a lot,” Coleman said. “It’s a neat group of kids.”